In our weekly round-up of the action involving Chelsea players out on loan, young striker Armando Broja takes the headlines again with another goal, while there were mixed fortunes in another busy midweek of European football…
A week after netting his first Premier League goal for Southampton, Broja was at it again as the Saints came from behind against Burnley at St Mary’s. The Albanian international’s finish was typically clinical, a burst into the box fashioning the shooting opportunity as he skipped past James Tarkowski and then fired the ball precisely into the far bottom corner.
It was a goal that handed the Saints an advantage after former Blue Tino Livramento had netted his first senior goal with the equaliser, though Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side had to settle for a point as Maxwel Cornet bagged a brace either side of their two goals.
For Broja, that is now three goals in four games for club and country, while Southampton’s recent upturn in form leaves them 16th in the Premier League, four points from safety. The 20-year-old did appear to sustain a knock to his ankle late on but Hassenhuttl was upbeat about his chances of recovering quickly.
‘It doesn’t look too bad hopefully,’ said the Austrian after the game. ‘It will take a few days but he is not allowed to play on Tuesday anyway so we’re okay.’
That Tuesday game sees the Saints head to Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup, with Broja ineligible to face his parent club.
There were back-to-back starts this week for Conor Gallagher, whose Crystal Palace side were in action on Monday night away at Arsenal. The Eagles fought back to wrestle control of the contest through goals from Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard but they were left floored in stoppage time as Alexandre Lacazette fired in an equaliser.
Gallagher caught the eye once again with a lively midfield display, stealing possession for Palace’s second goal before launching a speedy counter-attack, and he was back in the thick of the action in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United.
Mixed fortunes in Europe
A busy midweek of European football saw four of our players involved in either Champions League or Europa League action, with Emerson Palmieri and Lyon claiming victory in an enthralling seven-goal thriller in the Czech Republic.
The Italy international came on at the break away against Sparta Prague with his side 2-1 down and helped them find three goals to turn the group game on its head, with striker Karl Toko Ekambi grabbing a double. The result leaves them with a 100 per cent winning record in their group and in the driving seat to advance to the knockout round.
However, Peter Bosz’s men had less luck in Ligue 1 this weekend as they conceded three once again and lost 3-2 at Nice to leave them ninth in the table. Emerson played at left-back throughout.
Thierno Ballo was another winner in the Europa League this week, coming on for the final 21 minutes as Rapid Vienna claimed a 2-1 victory against Dinamo Zagreb. In the Austrian Bundesliga, the teenage forward played all but the final eight minutes in a 1-1 draw at Hartberg.
Michy Batshuayi was involved for the duration for Besiktas as they were beaten 4-1 at home by Sporting Lisbon, while Tiemoue Bakayoko and AC Milan also went down in Europe, losing their Champions League clash with Porto 1-0 as they continue to search for their first group points.
The midfielder was a half-time substitute for the Rossoneri as they went level with Napoli at the top of Serie A with a 4-2 victory at Bologna courtesy of two strikes in the final six minutes against a side that played the final half an hour with nine men.
Elsewhere in Italy, Ethan Ampadu started both Venezia’s 1-0 victory against Fiorentina and 3-1 weekend defeat at Sassuolo. In the latter, the Wales international provided the assist for David Okereke to open the scoring but could do nothing to prevent his side falling to a loss.
Matt Miazga registered back-to-back 90 minutes in the Alaves defence as the Spaniards recorded a win and a defeat in La Liga, going down 1-0 to Real Betis last Monday before beating Cadiz 2-0 this weekend.
In the Slovenian second tier, Karlo Ziger was in goal as Rudar Velenje were beaten 3-1 by Fuzinar. Meanwhile, even further afield in South America, there were three substitute appearances in a week for Kenedy, who helped Flamengo to a 0-0 draw against Cuiaba and a 2-2 draw at Athletico in the first leg of a cup tie. He also played the final 25 minutes as the Brazilians were beaten 3-1 by Fluminense this weekend.
Elsewhere in England
In the Championship, Coventry City’s bright start to the season was tempered with a draw and a defeat inside the space of four days. With Ian Maatsen at wing-back, the Sky Blues went down 2-1 at Preston North End in midweek, before the Dutchman was joined in defence by his fellow Chelsea loanee Jake Clarke-Salter for a 1-1 draw with lowly Derby County.
Levi Colwill helped Huddersfield Town to another clean sheet with a 0-0 draw against Birmingham City in midweek, although a yellow card in that game meant he was suspended for the 3-0 weekend loss at league leaders Bournemouth, with former Chelsea youngster Dominic Solanke among the goals.
For Reading, both Danny Drinkwater and Baba Rahman played in consecutive defeats, 3-2 against Blackpool and 2-0 at Blackburn Rovers.
In League One, Jamie Cumming kept Doncaster Rovers at bay in a 1-0 victory before Gillingham drew 2-2 away at Bolton Wanderers, leaving the Gills two places and two points above the drop zone.
Henry Lawrence started at right-back for AFC Wimbledon in their 1-0 win at Lincoln City in midweek before coming off the bench in a 2-0 reverse at Wigan Athletic.